Creating and Maintaining a Linked Online Database (on your own)

John D. Muccigrosso

23 July 2021

The Semantic Web isn’t just about putting data on the web. It is about making links, so that a person or machine can explore the web of data.
- T. Berners-Lee (2006)

Assumptions

  1. You’ve got data (in mind)
  2. You want to share it
  3. You’re beginning

My Temples Project

Database Homepage
Mapping known temples

5-Star Data

From inventor of the web, Tim Berners Lee

  • ⭐️ Data is available on the Web, in whatever format.
  • ⭐️⭐️ Available as machine-readable structured data, (i.e., not a scanned image).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Available in a non-proprietary format, (i.e, CSV, not Microsoft Excel).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Published using open standards from the W3C (RDF and SPARQL).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All of the above and links to other Linked Open Data.

Important

This is a continuum, not a yes/no scenario.

My Requirements

  • Involve students
  • Low 💵
  • Do-able by me

Tools

  • Google sheets
Database in Google Sheets

Important

  • Every item has a unique ID
  • Links to other resources are included
Links in the sheet

Tools

  • Google sheets
    • Free
    • Most people can use it without much training
    • Multiple people can access
    • Data are downloadable
    • Not necessary

Tools

  • Google sheets
  • GitHub
    • Free, on-line repository for files
    • Originally for programmers, but often suits academics
    • Tracks changes (= a kind of back-up)
    • Designed for collaboration
    • Not necessary
Github repository for the project

Tools

  • Google sheets
  • GitHub
  • Zotero
    • Bibliography — because we’re academics!
    • Free, open-source, citation manager
    • Use on the web or via a local app
    • Lots of tools work with it
    • Exports your citations in a variety of formats
    • Not necessary
Zotero export
Exported Zotero bibliography as web page
Exported Zotero bibliography as web page

5-Star Data

From inventor of the web, Tim Berners Lee

  • ⭐️ Data is available on the Web, in whatever format.
  • ⭐️⭐️ Available as machine-readable structured data, (i.e., not a scanned image).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Available in a non-proprietary format, (i.e, CSV, not Microsoft Excel).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Published using open standards from the W3C (RDF and SPARQL).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All of the above and links to other Linked Open Data.

Making it Linkable

Your things have to have be findable on the web, ideally as…

Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI)

For example…

A Temple via its URI
Other available formats via the API

5-Star Data

From inventor of the web, Tim Berners Lee

  • ⭐️ Data is available on the Web, in whatever format.
  • ⭐️⭐️ Available as machine-readable structured data, (i.e., not a scanned image).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Available in a non-proprietary format, (i.e, CSV, not Microsoft Excel).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Published using open standards from the W3C (RDF and SPARQL).
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All of the above and links to other Linked Open Data.

Resource Description Framework (RDF)

a standard for data interchange that is used for representing highly interconnected data. Each RDF statement is a three-part structure consisting of resources where every resource is identified by a URI. Representing data in RDF allows information to be easily identified, disambiguated and interconnected by AI systems. - Ontotext Knowledge Hub

Triplets: Subject - Predicate - Object (where all three parts are URIs)

Multiple formats for storing these statements. Turtle (.ttl) is a very readable one.

RDF in “turtle” format
Example line “turtle” format
Example line “turtle” format
Googleʻs Search Console

Tools

  • Google sheets
  • GitHub
  • Zotero
  • Other stuff
    • Google Search Console - register your RDF and URIs with them
    • pandoc - convert your Zotero output into html or other useful formats
    • leaflet.js - free mapping javascript library for the web
    • scripts - all kinds to automate all sorts of things

Big picture Wrap-Up

  1. Use free stuff for cost and sustainability.
  2. Start. You can make it better later.
  3. It’s a continuum.
  4. Plan to learn along the way.
  5. Ask for help.
  6. Share.
  7. KISS for sustainability and reuse

Sites